In 1970, renowned science fiction Isaac Asimov published his 100th book, and called it Opus 100, which refers to either a literary work or composition, or a large-beaked penguin.* I doubt I will ever catch up with him, since he wrote over 500 books, including both non-fiction and fiction. At least I shall exceed him […]
The other day I was speaking with a friend about how conservative writers feel they’ve been marginalized by leftists and are trying to change that. He remarked, “What do left and right mean in science fiction? Certainly what is considered liberal and conservative now will change in the future.” This was an excellent point, which […]
If you do a web search of “cover design” on-line you’ll find that many writers say “don’t do your own covers.” They mention the many pre-made designs available for purchase and recommend using one of those. That’s fine for some folks, but I’m a control freak who can’t let that go. My books are my […]
When novice writers ask their more experienced brethren for advice, we frequently recommend joining a writer’s group. Believe me, it can be very helpful. There are two kinds of fiction writers who resist this advice, who happen to be the ones who need it most. The first is supremely confident, convinced of their own […]
One of my goals as a writer is to improve my skills by practicing many kinds of writing. So when a friend referred me to join the “One Voice” theater collective, I jumped at the chance. I had expected it to be a short stint but ended up enjoying the sense of camaraderie that came […]
“Write what you know” is a bit of advice frequently given to beginning writers. Though sound in principle, it’s not always possible. If we took the advice too seriously, science fiction and fantasy would not exist. Yet whenever we write about human characters – and sometimes even aliens – we draw on our own lives. […]
Like me, most of you probably have childhood memories of sitting in front of a blank page, agonizing over what to write for a school essay. Years ago, in my first serious foray into writing fiction, I’d occasionally have the same problem. Eventually, I stopped writing because I was blocked on a particular novel. That […]
